Scandinavian Mountains over 2000 metres - James Baxter

Stetind, 2020 metres, is a compact mountain with 2 tops, Stetind itself and Stehøi. Between them is a gentle saddle. The summit of Stetind has two peaks separated by a ½ km arête which is easy but quite airy in a couple of places and leads to a short and gentle scramble to the highest peak.

The Route from Leirvassbu Cabin

15km 650m 4-6hrs

From Leirvassbu cabin follow the road south over a small rise for 1 km and then keeping on the Gravdalen Valley floor follow it round the south side of Stehøi for a further 3 km until you are directly south of the saddle between Stehøi and Stetind.

At this point leave the valley floor and head north for 2 km to the saddle where you ascend 350 m. It is not really worth leaving the valley earlier as this involves an undulating traverse round the steep south side of Stehøi.

From the saddle, where there is a wonderful view of the Gladhøpiggen Massif, there is a moderate ascent of 250m for 1 km to the south top, which will present no problems at all.

From here the ½ km arête to the main top stretches out to the north to the sharp top of Stetind. The route follows the ridge of the arête down to the lowest point and up again where the are a couple of airy passages with a sheer 200m drop on the west side and a steep slope on the east.

The last 100m involve a moderate scramble (which will be easy enough for those who are used to walk in the mountains) which leads up to the small flat summit area.

The reward for this ascent is the stunning views in all direction, especially to the Smørstabb massif and Storebjørn in particular.

The descent journey can be made by following the ascent. Alternatively, but not recommended for winter/spring due to avalanche possibilities and its steepness, you could descend onto the small glacier on the north side of the saddle between Stehøi and Stetind and return to Leirvassbu down the north side of the mountain.